Multimodal metaphors in neopentecostal rhetoric

• Autor(a) principal: Martins, Erik Fernando Miletta
• Data de Publicação: 2023
• Outros Autores: Souza, Marcela Costa de
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Entrepalavras
• Texto Completo: http://www.entrepalavras.ufc.br/revista/index.php/Revista/article/view/2539
• topic: Multimodal metaphors. Metaphoric conceptualization. Pentecostal churches.; Metáforas multimodais. Conceptualização metafórica. Igrejas pentecostais.

The objective of this article is to analyze the relationship between metaphor and gestuality in neopentecostal rhetoric, aiming to explore its weight as a fundamental part of adhesion strategies to its core beliefs. The data is constituted by multimodal metaphors associated to these beliefs and were extracted from religious cults ministered by the leaders of the two most influential neopentecostal churches: the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God and the International Church of God’s Grace. From the theoretical point of view, the article anchors itself in the text sociocognitive studies., a fertile field to a dialogue between Textual Linguistics and Cognitive Linguistics. To describe, classify and quantify the data, we were oriented by Miranda e Mendes’ (2014) and Kendon’s (2004) gesture tipologization. Quantitative analysis indicates, amongst other things, predominance of orientational conceptual metaphors, process illustrated in a qualitative analysis of one excerpt of each cult. Multimodal metaphors, when used in face of the emergency of Prosperity Theology concepts, fulfill an important function in the construction of these concepts’ references to the public-target of this rhetoric. They are, therefore, relevant argumentative strategies by offering visual elements to the most elementary verbal metaphors of this theology.